Pork and Scenic Views

A pale hand ran through tresses of dark lavender as amethyst eyes scanned the scenery around their owner. She was tired, and it showed on her pale face as dark lines under her eyes, marring her normally youthful appearance. An elder had passed in the past few weeks, and her entire clan had been in mourning for the valued and honored individual. After they had buried him, the entire clan had been mourning, wearing black and eating very little, Mizuki especially.

She sighed softly, this being the first day in which the clan would not be mourning, and here she was buying more than enough food to feed an army, especially roasted pork. The lady at the stand she was at kept looking at her funny, like she was sure this woman could eat all of the food she had ordered, but continued cooking anyways.

Once the lady was done and had handed over her food, Mizuki paid her an ambled off, in search of a place to relax and munch on her food. Once she found the spot she was looking for, she settled on a wooden bench beneath a great pine, providing wonderful shade and privacy for her to eat under. As she looked up she could see the span of the entire village from her seat, and she smiled softly to herself.

There she began to devour the roasted pork on a stick, losing all lady like qualities, except for remembering to wipe her face. She'd love to meet the fool who was gonna come in between her, her food, and her peace. She'd had a couple of very trying weeks and now all she wished to do was relax, and she doubted anyone would blame her.

Katsumoto had just gotten out of the hospital. He was tired and depressed. His honor had been hurt and that was what troubled him more then the loss of his arm. Sure it was still on Ice but the fact was there was no one in this village who could possibly reattach it. Katsumoto walked from the hospital entrance to a bench and sat down. Across from him was what looked to be a little food court.

Food...Katsumoto hadn't known the taste of good food for a while. He had lately been to poor to afford anything. The hospital bill would probably be sent to him soon as well and that was just going to mess up what ever savings Katsumoto would have. Still Katsumoto couldn't help but feel that things would work out. They always did in the end.

Suddenly a heavenly spell reached Katsumoto's nose. "Is that roasted pork?" Katsumoto whispered to himself. His mouth already salivating with the thought of having something warm in his belly. Katsumoto was about to walk to the stand and then realized that someone would ask about his arm and he didn't really want to answer that. Especially since he was obviously an outsider and these people were still very suspicious and hostile. Katsumoto looked at the stump that was his arm and closed his eyes, he still felt it there and yet it wasn't. The memory of the battle raged in his mind...when would he get the chance to kill the man who had done this to him?

Katsumoto looked up and saw a female on a bench about 30 ft in front of him. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful, strong, and....extremely tired she was. Katsumoto looked down hoping she didn't notice him staring. He didn't want to be rude.

She closed her eyes as she munched on her food, smiling as she chewed. However, once her eyes opened, she was greeted with the sight of a stranger; a tall, handsome one-armed stranger at that. He was looking at her, and she was looking at him, and then he was looking away, embarrassed. She looked down at her food, and remembered how much she had gotten, and was suddenly filled with embarrassment and a certain feeling she didn't often get or understand.

Compassion.

She sighed and got up, striding over to him, grabbing his existing arm and then dragging him back to where she had been sitting, grabbing another piece of pork and leaving the box open for him. "I don't do this often, so don't thank me or compliment me. Just shut up and eat." she stated calmly as she began on her own piece, her eyes gazing over the village.

After a while she leaned back, glancing at him now and then, a soft smile on her face. "The name is Mizuki Yukiyami. What can I call you, big guy?" she inquired before she took another bite of her food. She couldn't help but glance at him now and then, and she couldn't help but smile either. Maybe this guy could drag her out of her funky mood and into a better one.

Katsumoto was eyeing the ground embarrassed at what he had done...had she noticed? He got his answer soon enough as was pulled from his seat and dragged thirty feet to the bench across the way by the very female he couldn't help but look at. Trying his best to keep his balance and not land on his face Katsumoto was relieved when she finally sat him down beside her. She then opened a box of roasted pork and left it next to Katsumoto.

Katsumoto would have thanked her but she made it clear right away that she didn't want him to waste his breathe. He couldn't help but smile as he reached with his left and only arm into the box and pulled out a plump piece of meat. What made him smile more was the way she looked at him and what she called him after she gave him her name.

Katsumoto bowed slightly and looking down said "I am Tokugawa Katsumoto. But if you want you can call me Toku. Miss Yukiyami. It is miss right?" Katsumoto then attempted to shake her hand but then realized he couldn't and if he used his other hand he'd get grease on her. Katsumoto looked down, and frowned in frustration but quickly smiled and looked back at her. "I hope I am not intruding but may I ask why you look tired? I know I have no reason to talk."

She smirked at him, rolling her eyes. "Your damn right I'm a miss." she chuckled, grabbing another piece of pork and stuffing her face as she looked out over the view before her. She cocked an eyebrow at him when he asked why she looked tired, and she smiled at him as she looked over his own tired form. "Deaths in the family seem take a lot out of you. Especially when your in charge of everything."

She went back to her food, bringing a long leg up to cross over the other. She stared at him, and really wanted to ask how he lost his arm, but instead, she quelled her rude urge for some reason and ventured out on a limb." You got a place to sleep for the night, Toku? I know the hospital only lets you stay for so long before they kick you out." she stated with a soft smile, uncrossing her legs and then crossing her arm as she chewed on her lip.

Then, before she even let him get a word in, an offer was out. "If you don't, I can offer you a place to rest your head. I'd like a little company in the big old place anyways. Just until you get enough money to pay for your own place to stay, yah know. And you'll have to help with chores, even if you do have one arm. Don't expect any sympathy." she stated calmly, looking back over the view and the crowd, her amethyst eyes glittering as she cursed herself for her offer. Then again, she was being nice for a change.

Katsumoto couldn't help but smile when she told him she was in fact a miss. Katsumoto tried to keep it to himself but he couldn't help but look embarrassed. He was kind of glad that she was still a Miss and not a Misses.

When she cocked her eye at him and told him exactly why she was tired Katsumoto couldn't help but feel bad. Deaths in the family were never a good thing. Ever. Katsumoto already lost his family, all of them to a war. No one, not even his children had survived. Katsumoto had been in charge of the army as well at the time. These memories saddened Katsumoto and he quickly wiped his eyes. "I can understand that perfectly Miss Yukiyami."

It was then that Katsumoto noticed she was staring at him, and his arm. It was obvious that she wanted to know what had happened but Katsumoto was glad that she didn't decide to ask that right away. Still he planned to tell her soon enough if she did decide to ask.

Her kindness knew no bounds. She started asking Katsumoto if he had a place to stay and before he could even tell her that he didn't she offered right away if he would stay at her place. She looked nervous asking as if she was kind of worried he wouldn't accept. Katsumoto thought it over long and hard, he didn't want to burden her but she did offer and he didn't want to dishonor her. What made him choose his decision was the fact that she was treating him as a normal person even without an arm. She told him that he shouldn't expect any sympathy and that he should work. Some may call that cruel but Katsumoto saw the kindness in that. With that offer how could he refuse?

She smiled kindly at him and then closed up the remaining boxes of food, standing and discarding the empty ones. Then she turned back around to him, her face stiff and serious again. "Come on and I'll get you situated. I'll also get one of the clan members to go and retrieve your things later." she stated calmly and not allowing for question, beckoning for him to follow her.

She lead him through the village confidently, and straight through the gates of her clan's compound. At first the guards and their pets clenched up, as if to spring, until Mizuki gave them a serious glare. She paused and motioned for one to come close, and she whispered an order to him and then he disappeared, off to fulfill whatever she had asked. Then she continued on through the compound all the way to the end where a large, old style mansion stood looming above them.

"This is home. It isn't much, and it is a bit spare in decorations. Just don't touch anything you see other than your bed and closet in your room. M areany of the other items older than you and me combined." she stated calmly as she slid the door open and took off her shoes, placing them just inside the door before she stepped into the large white marble floored foyer.

There she paused, turning to face him, a soft smile on her face. "Where do you want to go first? Kitchen, bathroom, your room, etcetera..." she inquired, much more comfortable in her home. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she waited impatiently for him to reply.

Katsumoto followed Mizuki diligently to her home. It was here where he realized that this place was a fortress of sorts. The guards gave him a cold stare and reached towards their weapons. Due to instinct Katsumoto started to charge chakra but left it alone when he saw that Mizuki ordered them to stand down and leave him be. "Funny how everyone here wants to hurt me huh?" Katsumoto would say looking at Mizuki chuckling. At the foot of the mansion Mizuki told him right away that he was only allowed to touch things in his room and closet. Katsumoto smiled a little and shook his head. "I wouldn't dare touch anything of my hosts without her saying it is ok."

As she went in Katsumoto saw that she took off her shoes first and left them at the entrance. Katsumoto did the same and bowed when he went in. When he looked up from his bow he saw her smiling at him and ask him where he'd like to go first. He smiled and then smiled even more when he saw how impatient she was to show him around. "I don't mind where we start. Give me the grand tour?"

She smirked and swiftly turned, expecting him to follow right behind her. She gave a glance over her shoulder at him, and slammed open a door on her right, startling a poor servant who was busy cleaning inside. "Bathroom." she stated calmly, letting him take a good look, then on they went, passing throughout the house, in much the same way as before.

Finally, they came to the bedrooms. She slammed open the door to one room, and waved her hand inside. Inside was a large bed with a silk quilt that had all sorts of designs on it. On top of that quilt was a large cat, his big golden eyes staring up at the two of them curiously. The rest of the room was tastefully, yet sparsely decorated, mostly in white and purple. Obviously, this was not his room. "This is where I stay. If you need anything during the night, rap three times on my door, otherwise I might forget your here and come out and try to kill you." she stated seriously before she moved across the hallway.

She gently opened this door, and inside was another silk covered bed, yet this time with no big cat peering up at them. Instead, all of his thing lay in a neat pile on the bed. The room inside was also light furnished, mostly in dark blues. "This is where you stay." she stated softly, giving him a glance. They were closer together now, and only now she noticed it. She swallowed, a little nervous, and moved away to her room. "Dinner is precisely at 5. Be washed up and at the table or you don't get anything to eat. Then we'll go over what you can do as payment for me allowing you to stay here." She paused in her doorway and smiled at him, her amethyst eyes searching. "Do you need anything else?"